Alaska

2023 was a record year for Disaster Legal Services program

It’s been a busy 12 months for the ABA Young Lawyers Division’s Disaster Legal Services program. According to Amanda Brown, the director of the program, Disaster Legal Services helped survivors navigate the aftermath of a record 23 federally declared natural disasters in 2023.

Dec 18, 2023 8:28 AM CST

25 federal district courts have always had white judges

Twenty-five out of 94 federal district courts have never had a judge of color, according to a Bloomberg Law analysis.

Sep 5, 2023 12:36 PM CDT

Alito uses op-ed page to defend undisclosed free Alaska trip on private jet

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito defended his free 2008 vacation to an Alaskan fishing lodge in a column published Wednesday in the Wall Street Journal, about five hours before ProPublica reported on the trip.

Jun 21, 2023 10:43 AM CDT

Former acting AG for Alaska is charged with sexual abuse of minor on mock trial team

Clyde “Ed” Sniffen, a former acting attorney general for Alaska, has been indicted on three felony charges of sexual abuse of a minor following accusations that he had a sexual relationship with a teenage girl that began during a mock trial trip to New Orleans.

Sep 26, 2022 8:53 AM CDT

Sarah Palin didn’t meet ‘high standard’ for proving defamation in suit against New York Times, judge says

Updated: A federal judge in New York told lawyers on Monday that he will dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed against the New York Times by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

Feb 15, 2022 9:08 AM CST

Republican-led states sue Biden administration over protections for transgender students and workers

Twenty Republican-led states sued the Biden administration Monday claiming that protections for transgender people, including access to bathrooms and locker rooms, are invalid under federal law.

Sep 1, 2021 10:12 AM CDT

Acting Alaska AG resigns amid allegations he had a sexual relationship with high schooler in 1991

Acting Alaska Attorney General Ed Sniffen resigned Jan. 27 before the publication of an article alleging he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl that began on a moot court trip to New Orleans in 1991.

Feb 5, 2021 11:19 AM CST

Afternoon Briefs: State files 100th lawsuit challenging Trump policies; 2 more firms reverse pay cuts

California files 100th suit against Trump administration California and 21 other states have filed a lawsuit challenging a Trump administration rule that curtails the scope of environmental reviews conducted to assess the impact of actions by federal agencies. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said it is the 100th suit filed…

Aug 31, 2020 4:45 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Alaska attorney general resigns over text messages; lawsuit claims racial bias in concussion deal

Alaska attorney general resigns after text messages disclosed Alaska Attorney General Kevin Clarkson has resigned after a news investigation found that he sent more than 550 text messages in March to the cellphone of a younger employee. The texts invited the woman to Clarkson’s home, told her that she was…

Aug 26, 2020 4:36 PM CDT

Proposal would require New Jersey lawyers to reveal client information showing wrongful conviction

An ethics proposal in New Jersey would create an exception to the duty of client confidentiality when a lawyer has information that an innocent person has been wrongly incarcerated.

May 28, 2020 10:06 AM CDT

Do anti-mask laws make us all criminals? Lawyer who challenged this law sees issues

Are people who don masks to protect themselves during the COVID-19 epidemic breaking the law?

Apr 23, 2020 4:28 PM CDT

This Alaska lawyer blends life and law as a tribal court judge and an Orthodox Jew

How does a Jewish kid from Philly become a tribal court judge in Alaska? Just ask Judge David Avraham Voluck.

Feb 1, 2020 1:10 AM CST

No Country for Rural Lawyers: Small-town attorneys still find it hard to thrive

Solving the rural attorney shortage won’t be easy, given that few law graduates appear willing to set up shop in rural America. The situation is only expected to worsen in the near future, given that many lawyers in less-populated counties are approaching retirement age and no younger attorneys have moved in to replace them.

Feb 1, 2020 12:00 AM CST

2nd Circuit reinstates Sarah Palin’s defamation suit against the New York Times

A federal appeals court has ruled that a federal judge followed the wrong procedure when he dismissed a defamation suit filed against the New York Times by former vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor Sarah Palin. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at New York reinstated Palin’s suit Tuesday…

Aug 7, 2019 11:05 AM CDT

ACLU sues after Alaska governor cuts court budget to protest abortion ruling

The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska contends that the state’s governor violated the separation of powers when he used a line-item veto to cut the court budget to protest abortion-related rulings. The ACLU filed a lawsuit last Wednesday seeking an injunction to prevent the budget cut by Alaska Gov.…

Jul 24, 2019 12:50 PM CDT